Field Notes: Observing Lake Union is an audio tour of the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop, created by the Studio for Urban Projects, that explores how changing conceptions of nature, and our place within it, have shaped Seattle’s Lake Union over the last two hundred years. The piece focuses on the underlying ecology of Lake Union and its transformation through eras of geologic change, Native American stewardship, European settlement, commercial industry and large-scale infrastructural development as well as urban planning and park design. The project probes the complex interplay between human values and natural ecologies that have shaped Lake Union today.
Lake Union is a landscape that has been dramatically transformed. Over the course of 200 years Lake Union has been radically altered from its pre-Seattle days when it was inhabited for thousands of years by the Duwamish tribe. Field Notes: Observing Lake Union offers visitors insight into the historical topography of the lake and the ways it has been altered. It focuses on traces of Lake Union’s natural ecosystems and habitats and explore how they are being restored by reclamation efforts. The project poses questions relevant to cities everywhere: what are the underlying ecologies of our urban landscapes? How can human systems more thoughtfully integrate into them?
Field Notes: Observing Lake Union is created in collaboration with audio engineer Tim Halbur and is commissioned by the Seattle Department of Transportation & Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation 1% for Art Funds, administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. It will launch will on September 25, 2010 in conjunction with the grand opening of Lake Union Park.
September 25, 2010 11:00 am-2:00 pm
The Studio for Urban Projects will launch Field Notes: Observing Lake Union in conjunction with the grand opening of Lake Union Park in Seattle, Washington on September 25. Field Notes is an audio tour of the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop. The tour focuses on four sites along the Loop including Lake Union Park, Fairview Park, Gas Works Park and the mouth of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Field Notes explores the underlying ecology of Lake Union and its dramatic transformation through eras of geologic change, Native American stewardship, European settlement, commercial industry and large-scale infrastructural development as well as urban planning and park design. By experiencing the tour visitors will gain insight into the complex interplay between the lake’s natural ecology and the changing human values that have shaped Lake Union.
Each site incorporates an introductory piece narrated by the Studio for Urban Projects, indicated with a sign and call in number on the Loop trail. Within each site, observation points are marked with printed flags providing additional call in numbers. These points allow visitors to listen to a collage of voices gathered from interviews with local scholars, ecologists, historians, plant experts, foragers, residents, and designers among others. The observations focus on the specifics of the site and collectively speak to the lakes layered history.
In addition, a project hotline will allow Seattle residents and visitors to call in to offer their own expertise to the project. These contributions will be edited and published periodically for the duration of the project. The hotline allows the piece to continue to grow and benefit from the voices of community members.
Members from the Studio for Urban Projects will be on-site at the Lake Union Park opening from 11am to 2pm. Positioned near the main park entrance, Studio members will share information about the piece with visitors, hand out project maps and encourage visitors to share their insights on the Field Notes hotline.
Walking Tour: October 23, 2010 3:00-5:00 pm
Wild Foods Dinner: October 23, 2010 5:00-7:00 pm
In conjunction with the launch of Field Notes: Observing Lake Union in Seattle Washington, the Studio for Urban Projects will host a walking tour of Lake Union Park on Saturday, October 23rd at 3pm. The tour will feature short talks by Coll Thrush, author of Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place; David Williams, author of The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City; Ray Larson urban horticulturalist and author of The Flora of Seattle in 1850: Major Species and Landscapes Prior to Urban Development as well as several other project contributors. The tour will invite a public dialog around the themes of the project. It is free and open to the public with advanced registration advised. To sign up for the tour please e-mail info@studioforurbanprojects.org. Please meet on the west side of the pedestrian bridge.
A wild foods dinner will follow the walking tour at 5pm. Prepared by Christina Choi of Nettletown, the dinner will feature foods foraged from the region that once would have grown in and around Lake Union. The dinner will be hosted at the Center for Wooden Boats. Tickets are $40.00, including dinner and wine, and may be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets.